Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12-12-12 Postmarks

Howdy, folks! It's the last triple-date of the century here on Earth, and the U.S. Postal Service has made available a handful of "12-12-12" pictorial cancellations for those interested in obtaining one. (Of course, you could always get a "DEC 12 2012" postmark anywhere today, but that's not quite the same, is it?) If you're interested in any of these special cancels, please mail the postal card / envelope with the stamp to be cancelled, along with a request to the appropriate postal official, to the address shown at the right. Requests must be received within 30 days. The following information about these commemorative cancels was made available in the most recent Postal Bulletin.

The first commemorative cancels comes courtesy of (what appears to be) the Western Pennsylvania District office, located with the Pittsburgh Main Post Office.
12-12-12 pictorial postmark: Pittsburgh

Several post offices in South Dakota are offering 12-12-12 cancels of their own. They're particularly nice as the pictorials present a map of the state with the towns accurately located therein. The instructions for obtaining any of these cancels is the same as above.

12-12-12 pictorial postmarks: South Dakota

I visited one of these offices, that in Buffalo, back in 2008, while heading toward the Geographic Center of the 50 States.

Buffalo, SD post office
Buffalo, SD post office

Hope you enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the 12-12-12 info, Evan. And I love the blog!

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  2. Thanks so much for this info! I didn't know this could be done. I've gotten everything ready to mail but don't know what should be written on the request. Any ideas?

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  3. Fortunately any of these offices will be getting many offers, so they'll know what you're looking for. Within your outgoing envelope to the office, include a smaller self-addressed stamped envelope (preferably with a little backing so it doesn't get bent) and perhaps a 32-cent postal card or two to go inside. Just say "Dear Postmaster, I'd love XYZ cancelled with your commemorative 12-12-12 postmark! Please cancel [this envelope and/or this card] and mail it back. Thanks!"

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  4. Got my 12-12-12 cover from Pittsburg. Thank you for the information and regards from Ecuador.

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